


Conjunction

by Celandine



Category: Harry Potter - Rowling
Genre: Bestiality, Community: 3fan_holidays, Drabble Sequence, Drama, Knifeplay, M/M, Romance, Watersports
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2006-12-22
Updated: 2007-08-30
Packaged: 2017-10-12 08:23:22
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 2,502
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/122877
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Celandine/pseuds/Celandine
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Remus and Severus have more to offer each other than either of them thinks. An acrostic.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Conjunction

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Snegurochka](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Snegurochka/gifts).



"Stay away from me." The gaunt figure in the bed scowled ferociously. "I don't need your help."

"Yes, you do." Remus summoned all his patience. "The Wizengamot confiscated both our wands until trial, since we were both deemed relatively harmless. Being confined in Spinner's End is better than Azkaban. At least I can heat up a tin of soup, though I'm not much of a cook."

He ignored the continued glares and spooned broth into Snape's mouth. It wasn't actually from a tin; Molly had brought it over, and Remus had had some earlier.

Snape grumbled, but ate with appetite.

* * *

  
Even though rationally he knew that he was too weak to manage it himself, Severus resented having to ask Lupin to help him down the hallway. At least the werewolf left him alone to urinate. When he had finished, however, Lupin insisted that he needed to bathe and began running a tub before Severus could demur.

Having his back washed was soothing. The involuntary reaction he experienced from Lupin's impersonal handling of his genitals would have been beyond humiliation – except that Lupin ignored it, perversely making Severus wish that Lupin would say something just so that he could be angry.

* * *

  
"Very little," Remus told Hermione. "I'm not sure if he quite grasps why he's to be tried."

"But he _must_ remember killing Professor Dumbledore, and all the rest of it." Hermione handed Remus a flask. "Hasn't he spoken of his time with the Death Eaters at all? Harry will testify for him, and so will Professor McGonagall, but the more information I have the better a defense I can prepare."

"I'm sorry. He's still in bad shape, although he's getting stronger." Remus sipped at the Wolfsbane Potion and grimaced. "Thank you for this."

"I just hope I brewed it properly."

* * *

  
Each day Severus felt slightly stronger. As his body healed, his accustomed reluctance to avoid pain inevitably turned from the physical to the mental. Alone in the bedroom one grey afternoon, he counted up the deaths he had caused. What did it matter why, or that – in the end – the necessary purpose had been accomplished?

Self-absorbed, he failed to notice that Lupin brought his supper early and left him to eat alone. It was not until after nightfall that Severus began to wonder why Lupin was not there, sitting with him as usual. The full moon gave him his answer.

* * *

  
"Rough night?"

"Hmm?" Remus set down the tray of toast and tea and glanced over.

"I _said_ , did you have a difficult night? Do listen, Lupin." The sarcastic tone sounded more like the Snape Remus knew.

"I've certainly had better," Remus admitted. "Though many have been far worse."

"You must have taken Wolfsbane Potion, then. Who made it?"

"Hermione." Remus smiled. "Hers tasted even worse than yours."

"Humph." Snape lifted a slice of toast with a hand that no longer shook. "Next month I'll brew it for you."

"If we're both still here."

"There is that." Snape's eyes shifted away.

* * *

  
Under his fingers, the pile of shredded aconite leaves grew rapidly. Severus ignored the lurking dizziness, concentrating on measuring out the proper amount and stirring it into the simmering potion.

"I know you can pause now." Lupin's voice cut into his reverie. "I can't brew Wolfsbane Potion effectively myself, but I'm quite familiar with it. You'll make yourself ill again if you don't rest." His eyes were dark and thoughtful.

"You just don't want to have to nurse me again." Severus knew as he spoke that the accusation was untrue, but the way Lupin had been watching him was disquieting.

* * *

  
Surely Snape was unaware of what he was doing? Remus rose to refill his glass. A second whiskey wouldn't hurt, as long as he stopped there; with the trial set for tomorrow he hardly wanted to be hung over.

He must be. The idea of Severus Snape watching Remus' every move was laughable. Snape would gouge out his own eyes first. And yet... whenever Remus walked around the room, that black gaze was fixed upon him.

"Nervous, Severus?"

Snape jumped and grimaced. "Aren't you?"

"A bit." Remus sighed. "There's not much to be done now."

"No. It's far too late."

* * *

  
"...and the Wizengamot has determined that for these reasons, the defendant shall be judged not guilty of the charges laid and shall be free to go. Your wand shall be returned to you forthwith, Severus Snape."

 _Free to go._ Severus turned the words over in his mouth, disbelieving. A three-day trial, with character witnesses in his support that he hadn't even known about. Miss Granger had arranged it all, with the help of Remus Lupin, evidently. Who was smiling, a quiet pleased smile. He had been exonerated himself at the beginning of the week, far more quickly than Severus had.

* * *

  
"Not one possible job." Remus flung the _Prophet_ on the floor.

Snape frowned. "You're certain?"

"Of course I'm certain," Remus snapped. "I've looked for a fortnight. I've Owled every place for which I'm remotely qualified, but as soon as they're aware of my condition – and I have to tell them, by Ministry regulations a registered werewolf may not conceal that fact in seeking employment – it's always, 'We regret the position is taken.'" A fierce dry sob welled up in his chest, but he repressed it. For this he had fought Voldemort?

"You could work with me." Snape's voice was quiet.

* * *

  
"Dragon liver, I asked for."

"Isn't that...?"

As Severus tilted the box for Lupin to see, the other man's expression grew angry. "Doxy dung," he swore.

"Actually, I believe it's goat liver," said Severus clinically. "But not what I ordered in any case."

"I'll take care of this. If they think they can get away with..." Lupin grabbed the box and stormed out, muttering to himself.

This might work out better than Severus had expected. With his expertise in potion development, and Lupin's willingness to take on the dirty jobs of ordering and marketing, they might make the business succeed.

* * *

  
"Remus?"

He started. "Tonks? What are you doing here?"

"I wanted to see how you were." Her hair was pink, to Remus' relief. Six months together had persuaded Tonks that, after all, he wasn't what she wanted, but she'd mourned the loss of her dream for some time before taking up with Kingsley, who was much more her type.

"Quite well, as you can see." Remus gestured around the tiny shop, its shelves crowded with bottles and packets. "Severus can hardly keep up with the demand."

" _Severus?_ I see." Her grin was unabashed. "I'm glad to hear it."

Remus blushed.

* * *

  
"Everything tallies." Lupin sounded pleased. "We're officially ending our third month of business with a substantial profit. I say we should celebrate."

"How?" Severus asked warily.

"I don't care much for Christmas and somehow I don't imagine you do either."

Severus barked a short laugh. "Hardly."

"But solstice is next week," said Lupin. "A time of renewal. I think I would enjoy celebrating that with you."

"Had you something particular in mind?"

"You know the traditions as well as I. This hearth won't hold a true Yule log, but holly and mistletoe are obtainable."

"And the sacrifice?"

"Myself," said Lupin.

* * *

  
Mistletoe and holly twined around the bronze handle, leaving the blade bare. Naked, Remus knelt and waited.

"You're certain?" A hint of panic underlay the dark velvet of Severus' voice.

Remus nodded, tipping his head back. The sharp edge of the sickle touched his throat. Severus spoke the ritual words, then flung the bloody blade into the fire and bent to press his lips to the tiny cut, stanching the flow. Remus felt the magic gathering. He let himself relax into it; only passivity would allow him to survive this force unscathed.

"Take me. _Now._ "

" _Yes_ ," was the growled reply.

* * *

  
Underneath him Remus writhed, caught up by the same need that flowed through Severus. From somewhere he had produced a tube of Muggle lubricant, and now his knees were over Severus' shoulders, his arse tight and hot, gripping Severus' prick as he thrust.

The scab on Remus' neck reminded Severus of what they were doing here: invoking the ancient magics of blood and sex and time, weaving them together into a fabric of sheer power. He hadn't wanted to tell Remus that he had never done this before. The pleasure of it gripped him and he spilled with a cry.

* * *

  
"So."

They looked at each other. Severus' expression was closed, Remus' ill at ease.

"Are you all right?"

A nod. "Are you?"

"Yes."

"I think the herbs were fully burned just when..."

"They were," Severus interrupted. "The spell worked perfectly."

"Do you feel any different?"

"Not really."

"Nor do I." Remus sat up, a little gingerly. "It had been a long time. For me, anyhow."

"Since you'd celebrated solstice?"

"Even longer for that."

"Ah." Severus closed his eyes. "Does this change anything?"

"Only if you want it to."

"I don't know, yet."

Remus touched his arm. "You don't have to."


	2. Thinner Than Blood

"You might like this article, Severus." Remus slid the most recent issue of _Potions Quarterly_ across the table. "It's on bodily exudations – you know, nail parings, hairs, that sort of thing. What's interesting is that evidently Muggles can make use of some of that magic."

"Oh?" Severus raised his head. "What sort?"

"Blood, mostly. There's discussion of marking possession, bonding, through blood; a ritual of affiliation." Remus flushed slightly. Of course Severus remembered the blood magic they had once invoked. "The Muggles see it as merely symbolic, of course."

"Mm. I'll read it later. The shop opens in twenty minutes."

* * *

  
On his tiptoes, restocking the shelves of the tiny shop, Remus considered it. As usual, he assisted customers and filled owled-in orders; Severus stayed in the back. He created all the potions they sold, only rarely needing Remus' assistance.

Blood did not appeal. He had agreed to their blood ritual for other reasons. But Remus had lived with a wolf pack for months.

"Have you ever considered being marked?" Remus asked casually as they were closing. "Of course not in the permanent sense, as Voldemort required."

Dark eyes met his. "In an _im_ permanent sense? Do _you_ wish to mark me?"

* * *

  
Unexpectedly, his lover had been quite amenable when Remus proposed it. So much so, indeed, that Remus suspected that Severus had thought of it long before, hesitating perhaps from reluctance to remind Remus of his wolfish nature.

Now, however, Severus trembled before him, a quivering born of anticipation, not fear.

"Mark me."

The rich voice unleashed him. Remus did, letting loose a golden stream to flood across Severus' body. Severus touched himself, his cock hard and ruddy under the flow, surprised pleasure clear on his face.

"Yours. Always."

"Mine," Remus said, kneeling to lick him clean. "As I am yours."  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a follow-on to the original "Conjunction," written for snegurochka_lee as part of my 4th LJ anniversary celebration.


	3. Perverse Love

"Lacewings, damn it! I ordered five pounds of lacewings, and they sent what?" Severus slammed his hand against the worktable. "Snakeskin. That idiot woman."

Remus removed the offending parcel, closing it and retying the string. "I'll return this. You're supposed to concentrate on brewing, remember? I do the rest."

Normally that was true; Remus ordered supplies, dealt with customers, all the things Severus hated, but he'd realized he was short during the full moon, and Remus didn't work that day or the next.

"Do you have enough to finish?"

"No." With a scowl Severus turned back to the simmering cauldron.

* * *

  
"Everything's straightened out with our supplier." Remus hesitated. "It was my fault, Severus."

"I placed the order." Black brows pulled together.

"Yes, but I ought to have checked on everything the day before I transformed, made a list of what you were low on. Then this wouldn't have happened." He had spent the better part of a week apologizing to customers, refunding money to those who canceled their now-delayed orders. They would finish the month in the red for the first time since they'd become partners in Severus' potions business.

"You do enough as it is." Severus' steady gaze held his.

* * *

  
Each time they had sex, Severus remembered the first -- blood magic performed as the Yule log burned. In the locked corners of his mind, he considered himself bound to Remus, though he knew that what they had done created no permanent tie; the rite was merely a mutual claiming of power, reinforced through the mingling of blood and semen.

He could not speak of it. Nor could he remake himself to be less prickly and demanding than he knew himself to be. Opening his thoughts for his lover to identify what he would of Severus' emotions was his only concession.

* * *

  
Love. Remus knew that was what he felt towards Severus. Not the sort that went in, eventually, for china patterns and spoken vows. They had too much antagonism in their past, too many wounds that could never fully heal.

But there was no one else with whom Remus could imagine being, from whom he would feel the shattering pleasure that Severus always wrung from him. Those black eyes held fear and passion, pain and joy, in a mixture so heady that Remus felt almost drunk.

"Yes." He whispered the word softly. Taking or being taken, it was all the same.

* * *

  
Only two men had ever had sex with Severus. No women. He didn't regret it, exactly, but sometimes he wished he had more experience. Imagination and discreet research only went so far.

Although he loved it when Remus whispered dirty fantasies into his ear, Severus found it hard to reciprocate. He was more than willing to go along with what Remus wished, but it took Remus' insistence for Severus to admit to some of his own wishes.

"A collar," he muttered. "A leather one."

"In human form, or werewolf?" Remus' voice was calm. "I trust your potion completely; do you?"

* * *

  
Virility was not a concern for a werewolf. If anything, Remus usually wished that during the full moon he responded less to stimulation of all kinds. The ability to keep his human understanding, thanks to the Wolfsbane Potion, only made that aspect of the transformation worse, most months -- but this time was different.

Naked, he knelt, letting Severus fasten the thick leather around his neck -- loose now, but it would fit after the change. Already his senses were heightening; he could smell both arousal and fear as he put his arms around Severus' thighs and began to lick his cock.

* * *

  
Experience and reason said this was still Remus, though his form was different, and Severus himself had asked for it; yet now that the wolf stood before him, cold sweat dampened his body. Abruptly sitting, he put his arms around the furry neck, feeling the smoothness of the leather band.

The wolf whined, nuzzling Severus' chest. Remus trusted him, trusted his ability at potion-making. If he left now, it would deny all their history.

Severus stroked the familiar-unfamiliar cock, felt Remus' hot rough wolf tongue run over his skin. Perverse this joining might be, but in its own way, natural.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written (of course) for snegurochka_lee as a thanks for all her hard work at the daily_deviant community.

**Author's Note:**

> The first chapter was written for snegurochka_lee for the 2006 3fan_holidays exchange.


End file.
